Grandma’s Meatloaf

Growing up, the only true meatloaf I enjoyed was made by my grandmother.  My mom made a delicious BBQ turkey meatloaf – filled with cheese & veggies, but my grandmother’s was all meat, and therefore qualified as a true meatloaf. 

And, it’s quite good – and this is coming from someone who doesn’t eat a whole lot of red meat.  Smiles all around when this one is served. 

My grandmother even marked on the original recipe to remind herself of it’s goodness:

Do you do this too? 

Grandma’s Meatloaf – Grandma

Ingredients

• 2 eggs
• 3/4 C milk
• 2/3 C crushed saltine crackers
• 1/2 C chopped onion
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. sage
• pinch of pepper
• 1 1/2 lb. lean ground beef
• 1 C ketchup
• 1/2 C brown sugar
• 1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

Directions

Beat the eggs together in a large bowl.  Then, add the 3/4 C milk, 2/3 C crushed up saltine crackers, 1/2 C chopped onion, 1 tsp. salt, 1/2 tsp. rubbed sage and pepper. 

Add the 1 1/2 lb. ground beef and mix well.  Ideally, the mixing works best with your hands, but if you can’t stand the feeling of raw meat between your fingers you can use a spatula here. 

Shape the meat mixture into an 8.5 x 4.5 inch loaf and place into an ungreased bread pan of a similar size, or a meatloaf pan. 

In a second bowl, combine 1 C ketchup, 1/2 C brown sugar and 1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce together.  Mix well until blended. 

Pour 3/4 C of the sauce over the top of the meatloaf and then bake at 350 for 60-65 minutes.  Check at this point to determine that the center is done (beef should be cooked to 170 degrees) and is no longer pink. Then, remove from the oven & drain any excess grease from the pan. 

Allow the meatloaf to sit for 10 minutes before slicing to serve. 

Enjoy served with the remaining sauce.